Rivers
by Claire8216
Summary: Travis and Katie are like rivers. No matter what happens, they just keep on flowing, trying to get to their final destination. ONE-SHOT! Rated T for sexual content.


**Hey guys! Wow I haven't posted on here for a long time! I find that when I do though, I am always posting a Tratie story...hmmm...**

**Haha well I wanted to have this posted on Valentines Day, but obviously I'm like a week and a half late, so I'm sorry. I ended up being super busy and this turned out to be longer than I originally planned. **

**So, here's my story! Hope you guys like it!**

**Disclaimer: I just own the storyline, everything else belongs to Rick Riordan.**

* * *

Rivers

Travis was sitting on the dock at Camp Half-Blood, watching the reds and yellows and oranges from the sunset reflecting off of the glistening water. He loved coming here at this time in the evening. It was dinner time at camp so no one else was usually out here. He just needed time to think. It seemed like everything was happening so quickly. They had just defeated Kronos not even two summers ago and now they were already preparing for another war. He thought the camp has been dealt enough for a lifetime or two.

Then of course, there was his teenage boy problem in the form of Katie Gardner. One could call her his kryptonite. They were friends-best friends actually-but they were also so much more than that. She was his, and he was hers. Everybody knew that. So that is why it baffled him so much when he had heard that the new Apollo kid had asked her out. And Katie accepted.

She was the most infuriating girl he had ever met. No, they had never _officially_ been together. But Travis thought this time was different. Just six days ago Travis had her in his bed and they had promised to make things work. Obviously, Katie didn't believe that.

"Hey," A voice cut through the air.

Travis turned to see Conner leaning against a tree with his hands in his pockets. Travis offered him a smile before turning around to face the water once again.

"What are you doing here?"

"I came to see if my brother is doing okay," Conner replied, walking over to sit next to Travis.

Travis sighed. "Well, I guess I'm okay. Just confused. Really confused on how we're back to this again."

Conner shook his head. "Come on, man. We all know how this ends. They'll go out for a few weeks, maybe a month. Then it's their break up, and your hook up. This is how it's always gone. This time is no different."

"That's the thing, Conner," Travis replied running a hand through his hair. "This time was supposed to be different. It wasn't supposed to be just a hook up this time. We decided it was going to be for real."

"I don't know why you're so upset about this," Conner said standing up. "Katie and this Apollo kid might be right now, but you and Katie, you guys are endgame. You know it, Katie knows it, everyone knows it."

With that Conner walked away, leaving Travis to ponder his words.

After a few minutes, Travis got up, ready to go to bed after a long day when he saw a couple across the beach. They were cuddling and the girl seemed to be laughing at something the boy said. Travis went to turn around, but not before he caught the familiar green eyes of the girl.

* * *

Travis was avoiding Katie. Travis was avoiding Katie and she didn't seem to care. Two weeks had now passed since Katie had started dating the Apollo kid-Travis found out Harvey was his name. Harvey. Just his name made Travis' blood boil with anger. He hadn't spoken to Katie in weeks because of him. Granted, of course, that it was his choice to avoid her, but if Harvey didn't ask her out, he wouldn't be avoiding her in the first place.

"Hey, Travis," a voice purred behind him.

Travis turned around to see Sophia Woods, a girl from the Aphrodite cabin. Travis cringed, thinking of the night they shared just two days ago.

"Hey, Sophia," Travis replied. "What's up?"

"You up for a round two tonight?" Sophia asked him.

_Dang, she gets straight to the point,_ Travis thought. He scratched the back of his neck and said, "Sorry, Sophia. Don't think I'm up for it again."

Sophia pouted, but once she realized Travis wasn't going to change his mind, she gave up. "Fine. But if you change your mind, my door's always open."

With that she walked away, swaying her hips as she went. For one sinful moment as Travis watched the way she moved her hips he almost followed her, but was quickly snapped out of it when he heard someone say, "Sophia Woods, huh?"

Travis jumped, "Gods, Katie. You scared the crap out of me."

"That's a little low even for you, don't you think, Travis?" Katie said, completely ignoring his previous statement.

Travis' eyes narrowed. "Why do you care? You have your precious boyfriend, Harvey."

"You've been ignoring me," Katie stated, once again ignoring Travis. "Why?"

The son of Hermes rolled his eyes. "Take a wild guess, Gardner."

Katie sighed. "Travis, come on. It's not like this is the first time this has happened. This is what we always do. We hook up when we're single, but stop when we get into a relationship."

"Yes, Katie, I know that," Travis replied heatedly. "But this time was supposed to be different, remember? We talked about actually being together, not just these meaningless one night stands we've always had."

Katie's eyes flashed with hurt. "Meaningless."

Travis' eyes softened. "Come on, Kates, I didn't mean it like that. I just meant-"

"They aren't meaningless to me at all, Travis. In fact, all those times we've been together have meant more to me than every single relationship I've ever had combined."

Travis groaned in frustration, running his hands through his curly locks. "See, you say that Katie, but I just don't believe you."

The green eyes that Travis loved so much filled with unshed tears. "Travis can't you see? We aren't ready for a relationship. Neither of us. Even just as friends we fight all the time, and we can't even express our hurt to each other when one of us gets a boyfriend or girlfriend. Instead we just go sleep with the first person we see. Take Sophia Woods, for example." Katie took a deep breath before continuing. "You're the only boy I've ever _truly_ cared for. But if we got together right now I know that we would just hurt each other. And you're the one person I can't stand hurting."

Katie walked away after that, leaving Travis standing there all alone. As much as her words hurt, Travis knew she was right. They weren't ready for each other. Not yet. There would be a time when they will be together, and they both know that when that happens it will be forever. But just thinking about that scared Travis. Neither of them wanted a commitment like that. They were teenagers. They were in their prime. Now was their time to make mistakes. Date the wrong people, pull pranks on their friends.

Travis started walking. He didn't know his destination until he was standing right in front of it. And just looking at what was in front of him just proved once again how unready he was for Katie. Sighing somewhat disappointingly to himself at what he was about to do, he took a few more steps forward and knocked on the Aphrodite cabin door, coming face to face with Sophia.

* * *

"Hey, man," Conner said to Travis, walking through the door to the Hermes cabin. "Isn't it a wonderful day to be alive?"

Travis eyed Conner warily. "What's wrong with you?"

Conner smiled, letting out an over exaggerated content sigh. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Everything is perfect. Just wonderful."

"Do not make me slap you. Who are you and what have you done to my brother?" Travis asked him, only half jokingly. This was not how his _real_ brother would act. The only time he'd ever seen him act remotely close to how he is right now is when he'd gotten himself a girlfriend.

Travis smirked, putting all the pieces together. "Alright, buddy. Who's the girl?"

If it were possible, Travis swore that Conner's smile got even wider. "Miranda Gardiner."

Travis' eyes widened. "Miranda Gardiner? As in daughter of Demeter Miranda Gardiner?"

Conner rolled his eyes. "Do you know another one? Yes it's her."

"I didn't even know you guys had a thing."

The younger Stoll sighed. "Yeah, we haven't really been too open about it. But today we decided to make it official."

Travis forced a smile. He was happy for his brother. Of course he was. But he couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy run through him. Conner gets his girl, so why can't he?

"Well, looks like the Stolls have a thing for Demeter girls then, huh?" Travis said jokingly.

Conner smirked. "We talk about you and Katie, you know."

Travis raised his eyebrows. "Really? And what is it exactly that you and your _girlfriend_ have to say about us?" He was genuinely curious about Miranda's opinion. Katie told her everything, so there was no doubt in his mind that she knew everything they had been going through recently.

"Basically the exact same thing I've said, Travis," Conner told him. "You and Katie are meant to be. Maybe not now, but in the end."

Travis sighed. "I'm so tired of hearing that, Conner!"

"I know Travis, but it's true. You know it is too."

There was a long silence. Conner was right, even though Travis would never admit it. It didn't matter how much Travis wanted Katie right now. They had proven time and time again that they aren't ready for each other yet.

"Here."

Travis pulled himself out of his thoughts just as Conner thrust out his hand.

"What's this?" Travis asked, taking the folded piece of paper from Conner.

"Miranda gave it to me," Conner explained. "It's Katie's. She took it from her nightstand, thinking you may need a little encouragement."

"She stole it from Katie?" Travis asked.

Conner smiled. "More like borrowed. I've taught her well."

Then Conner took on a serious look. "But really, it won't matter. Katie has it memorized, anyway. Miranda said that she looks at it every night before she goes to bed."

Travis unfolded the paper in his hands. It was worn, looking like it had been folded and unfolded many times. As he read the words, he could feel his whole attitude change. There were only fourteen words on the wrinkled paper, but it was enough. He felt a sensation he hadn't felt in a long time - hope.

Looking up at Conner, Travis let a smile - his first real smile in a long time - form on his lips and then pulled his brother into one of their rare brotherly hugs.

"Thank you, Conner."

* * *

Two more weeks have gone by since Travis' talk with Conner and Travis had never felt better. Yes, there were times when he was feeling down, but whenever he felt his hope waver he would pull out the tattered piece of paper Conner gave him and he would feel better.

Currently, Travis was walking through the woods trying to get some alone time, for he'd had close to none since Conner and Miranda had become official. He was walking past Zeus' Fist when he spotted a girl sitting there with long, wavy brown hair picking at the flowers that surrounded the huge rock.

Katie.

"Gardner?" Travis questioned, even though he already knew it was her. He would recognize her anywhere. They'd never even been in a proper relationship with each other but Travis had already memorized every inch of that girl.

Katie looked up at him, her green eyes meeting his blue ones. She gave him a small smile. "Hey, Stoll."

"What are you doing all the way out here?" Travis asked, but he already knew the answer to that as well. Katie only came out to Zeus' Fist for one reason, and that was when she has just broken up with her boyfriend. It became a sort of unspoken agreement that the two would find each other here after a break up. In fact, this was where most of their hook ups happened. Just thinking about him being with Katie ignited something inside of Travis that he had to fight to push down.

The green eyed beauty gave him a look signaling that she wasn't in the mood for this. "Come on, Trav. You know why I'd be here."

Travis pursed his lips together and nodded, looking around at the scenery. The two shared an awkward moment of silence.

"Well, you guys lasted longer than a lot of people thought," Travis told her.

"It didn't feel right," Katie blurted out, not even a second after Travis finished his sentence.

Travis' eyes widened. Throughout all the break ups Katie had been through she had never been so honest in why things didn't work out.

"What do you mean?" Travis asked her.

Katie sighed. "I just…I don't know. Something was different when I was with Harvey. And it wasn't anything that had to do with him."

"Then what was it?"

Katie looked at Travis. "It was us."

Travis felt his heart stop. "Us?"

"Yes, us, Trav. This was the first time one of us has been in a relationship when we weren't on friendly terms. And it's _because _of that relationship that we hadn't been talking." Katie then murmured a few words that Travis couldn't quite understand.

"What was that, Katie?"

Katie didn't answer, and Travis was about to press her again when he heard her say, "I missed you."

All the sadness and anger Travis had held when Katie was with Harvey was suddenly lifted. He felt his facial features and his heart soften completely for the girl in front of him. Travis knew that Katie had a hard time showing affection for those she truly cared about due to her past, but in that second Travis seemed to have finally made a crack in those tough walls she had built up.

Travis couldn't take it anymore. He took two huge strides closing the distance between him and Katie. Katie gasped, not expecting his forwardness. She let him push her gently up against the side of Zeus' Fist. Travis put his hands on the boulder, one on either side of Katie, trapping her in. He felt Katie grab his belt loops on his jeans pulling him even closer to her. Travis rested his forehead on her own, trying to maintain eye contact with her when all he wanted to do was look at her lips. He smirked when he saw Katie struggling with the same thing.

"I missed you too, Gardner," Travis uttered. He wasn't sure which one of them initiated it, but in less than a second the two had their lips pressed together in a heated frenzy. Travis' hands moved, one to Katie's neck and the other to her waist, pulling her closer to him, if that were even possible. Katie's hands roamed Travis' soft curls as she wrapped her legs around his waist. Travis took her bottom lip between his teeth and lightly bit down, causing Katie to moan. He took the opportunity to explore her mouth, taking complete dominance of the kiss. Katie moved one of her hands down to the bottom of his t-shirt, lifting it up so that she could explore his abs, making Travis visibly tense up where ever Katie trailed her fingers.

Finally, Katie reluctantly pulled back needing to catch her breath, but Travis wasn't done. He pressed his lips to her neck, lightly sucking on one spot, leaving his mark on her.

"Travis," Katie gasped. "It's been way too long."

Hearing her speak broke Travis out of his trance. He stiffened and slowly pulled his lips away from her neck. He looked into Katie's eyes and almost broke once again, seeing the desire she had for him.

Katie looked at him, confused. "What's wrong? Did I do something?"

Travis shook his head and tried to pull his body away from her, but Katie wasn't having it.

"Travis," she said softly, taking his head between her hands. "What's the matter?"

Travis sighed. "It's nothing you did, Katie. I promise."

He saw Katie relax, but the confusion was still clear in her eyes. "Then what is it?"

"It's just that…you were right, Katie," he started. "You were right when you said to me a few weeks ago that we just aren't ready for each other yet. I thinking it's pretty obvious just how much I truly love you, and correct me if I'm wrong, but I think you love me too. It's just that we've been through so much of our own crap, and we're damaged as individuals. Putting two damaged people in a relationship is just a recipe for disaster. You're it for me, Katie. I want you to know that you are everything to me. And we _will_ be together. Now is just not the time."

As Travis was speaking, he saw Katie's eyes change from what was once pure desire to true affection for him. He even noticed a few tears threatening to spill.

"Travis," Katie whispered, her face breaking out into a smile. "What happened to the immature prankster I met when I was nine?"

Travis laughed softly. "He's growing up, I guess."

Katie's smile widened. "Well, I hope he knows how much I loved him then, and how much more I love him now."

Travis felt his face breakout into a grin. "He loves you too, Kates."

"When did you have time to sort this entire thing out in that head of yours?" Katie asked him. "I think that's the most mature thing I've ever heard come out of your mouth."

Travis rolled his eyes jokingly. "Thanks, Katie. Way to make a guy feel special."

Katie giggled. "But seriously, Trav. How did you come to this conclusion?"

Travis sighed. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the old piece of paper Conner had given him a few weeks prior.

Katie's eyes widened; a tell-tale sign that she recognized what Travis was holding. "Where did you get this?"

"Miranda took it off of your nightstand and gave it to Conner to give to me. Apparently she thought I needed a little bit of encouragement."

Katie gingerly took the paper from Travis. "I've been looking for this everywhere."

Travis rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry. Miranda said you had it memorized and probably wouldn't need it."

"Well, I do have it memorized," Katie smiled. "I just love seeing the words on paper as well."

Travis smiled. "Me too."

Katie unfolded the paper, scanning the words a few times before she read them out loud. "_Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there someday._"

"E.B. White," Travis finished.

Katie looked up at him again, smiling. "This is why I have hope, Travis. This quote right here."

"And this is what gave me hope, Katie," Travis told her, smiling back.

And truly, it was. Because Travis and Katie really were like rivers. They were two rivers that just kept pushing on, not knowing where it was they were exactly trying to get to. But they weren't in any rush. Where they are now is exactly where they need to be at that moment in time. Granted, that does mean that they were not quite ready to be with each other yet, but they would be one day. They are each other's final destination. And when they are ready, when they do find the other, then they will no longer be those two rivers, searching for their meaning. They will become one river, flowing in synch for the rest of their lives.

* * *

_Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there someday. –E.B. White_

* * *

**_Hope you guys enjoyed it! Please leave a comment!_**

**_Thanks,_**

**_~Claire8216_**


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